Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
By Monica Rodriguez
Jul 31, 2009
POMONA - Students may be enjoying their vacation, but there are people hard at work this summer in public schools.
Workers at the Pomona Unified School District schools are seemingly doing everything from installing air-conditioning systems to putting fresh coats of paint on buildings.
The projects - which vary in complexity - are part of the first phase of improvements paid for by funds from Measure PS, a $235 million bond approved by district voters in November for school modernization.
So far, the work is going smoothly, said Scott Stark, district director of capital facilities.
"We're right on track with all the projects," Stark said.
The goal is to complete the projects before the start of school, he said.
In the case of more intensive projects, plans call for the majority of the work to be completed by the start of the academic year, while detail work will be finished shortly after the start of the academic year, he said.
Campuses that will have reconfigured grades when school begins - such as San Jose and Vejar elementary schools and Fremont and Palomares middle schools - have been spruced up with work such as power-washing exterior brick and paint jobs, Stark said.
Ten schools have had more intensive work and are what district officials refer to as "quick-start projects."
The projects involve landscaping and irrigation system installation, painting, replacement or addition of security fencing, parking lot resurfacing and other work that doesn't require approvals from the Division of the State Architect, Stark said.
Such work has been completed or is taking place at Arroyo, Barfield, Golden Springs, Harrison, Lexington, Philadelphia, Westmont and Yorba elementary schools as well as Marshall and Simons middle schools.
The three most complex projects are at Armstrong, Decker and Lincoln elementary schools, which includes:
• A new cafeteria/multi-purpose room installed at Armstrong.
• Campus restroom improvements at Decker to meet federal Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
• Air conditioning system installation, which parents lobbied for, at Lincoln Elementary.
"The truth is we parents are very happy," said Guadalupe Gallegos, a parent of two Lincoln students.
Gallegos is a member of OneLA, a grassroots organization dedicated to addressing matters related to education, schools, housing, public safety and other topics of concern to families.
She and other parents, some of whom are also OneLA members, called for the installation of air conditioning at the school, which for some time has been the only campus with out such equipment.
About eight years ago, parents were told air conditioning would be installed, but that didn't materialize, she said.
More recently, parents worked in collaboration with OneLA and brought the matter to the attention of district leaders, she said.
Parents campaigned for Measure PS knowing its passage was the only way to raise the money needed to pay for such and improvement to the school, Gallegos said.
The addition of the air conditioning system is bound to have an impact on students physically and academically, she said.
"They are going to be studying in better conditions," Gallegos said. "Now they will be able achieve higher academic levels."
Cost for three large projects is about $5 million and about $3.5 million for the "quick-start projects."
Preparations are underway leading up to the creation of a program management plan that will plot out the various district modernization projects for the next two years, Stark said.
Completing all the work needed in Pomona Unified will take 10 years, he said.
The school district is also preparing to apply for what could be as much as $25 million in federal stimulus money for modernization projects, Stark said.
If the district could secure that much federal money, it "is going to make (the bond) money go much further," he said.
The various projects to be completed with Measure PS funds will improve the look of schools and help families feel good about the campuses, said Richard Martinez, district acting chief deputy superintendent.
Residents understand that even though these are difficult financial times, the work that will be carried out with the bond will have a long-term effect on the educational environment of schools, Martinez said.
"No matter what the situation we find ourselves in financially, we still have to make sure our buildings are safe and are capable of handling computers and other equipment" needed to prepare students for the future, he said.